Toyota Highlander bumper and hatch repair

[goodfellow]

Daughter's Highlander was in a fender bender some years ago where the rear bumper cover along with the lower rear hatch was damaged. Insurance deductible is $1000, so I better get on this quick before it gets too cold to paint.







The damage to the lower hatch and the tailpipe



Tailpipe hanger is the only thing that was bent -- easy enough to fix.



Removing the rear bumper cover is easy enough -- the fasteners are easily accessed. However. the upper left and right side "claw" connectors are a pain.



Foam inner bumper pad was a little broken, but crazy glue fixed all of the tears.





The side "claw" connectors for the bumper cover are easily depressed with a plastic trim tool (or a screwdriver wrapped in tape) to reduce the chance of scratching the adjacent painted panels.



Just insert the plastic trim tool between the bumper cover and rear quarter panel seam and push down on the claw tab to release the bumper.





The foam inner was glued and sealed



The steel reinforcements were straightened on the 20 ton press and reinstalled







It was readjusted and fit - no problems, it fits perfectly again.



Next I tackled the dents in the lower hatch



Used a stud puller to get the bulk of the crease out, and finally slapped on some filler







An hour later I was ready to prime --





The new bumper cover arrived yesterday -- it's already primed and all I have to do is prep it for paint.





This Taiwanese bumper cover cost a few more $ than the cheap Chinese versions, but they are much better quality, and the plastic will not peel the paint. Cheap Chinese bumper covers tend to be made of poor plastic and even with the aid lots of adhesion promoter, the Chinese plastic will not accept paint and primer very readily. Better to stick with OEM or Taiwanese aftermarket parts.



I'll prep this bumper next Tuesday and hope to paint mid-week. Wish me luck!!

[goodfellow]

Today was a dry, sunny, and marginally warm day, and it was perfect for painting. First thing on the block was the new rear bumper cover. It's primed, but to get a great paint finish it needs to be cleaned. I washed the primed areas with liquid dishwashing detergent to get all of the residual mold release compound. I then thoroughly scuffed the primer with a fine (gray) scotchbrite pad and then cleaned the surface again with generic rubbing alcohol. I don't like using solvent based wax remover on plastic surfaces -- it can open the pores to bond with the plastic and cause paint lifting later on.





Then I got my painting tools together. I know many current painters prefer gravity feed guns, but I have a passion for this old gun. A traditional siphon feed  DeVilbiss JGA with a #9000 fluid tip. At 40psi that gun atomizes metallics flawlessly and the finish is always even.





BTW -- does anyone have a "favorite lucky" air hose? This is mine. Purchased in 1977 from Montgomery Ward and it has been used for every car I have painted since then. I only use it for painting



I also prepped the rear splash guards while they were off the car. They had a few scuffs, and since they were handy, they might as well get a coat of paint.



The bumper received one dust coat of color followed by two heavy coats. Finally two clear coats were added with 10 minutes between coats. In 60 degree sunny weather I was pushing the envelope, but it flowed out nice.

First coats







Final clear coat reduced 3:1 (color to hardener) and it was dry to the touch in 30 minutes.

[goodfellow]

Had a setback on this project -- damn. I was ready for the paint and wet sanded the primed panel with 320 getting ready for color.....





Everything was properly masked, cleaned and prepared.



I used a quality gun to shoot the base coat, and it laid on smooth





.....BUT that's when the problem started. That basecoat would not dry; after two hours it was still wet and tacky. Something was seriously wrong. I double checked my paint mix and ratios and was stumped, until I looked at the reducer. Since I knew ahead of time that the temps would be in the low 60's, I had ordered a fast reducer to compensate for the variation. I used the same reducer to shoot the Bumper and it came out perfect. Long story short, this last round the paint jobber gave me the wrong reducer -- instead of "Fast" they gave me "Slow". Not good for cool weather painting.

I always buy the reducer in bulk from my jobber and they just fill a generic unmarked can from their bulk tanks -- well this time they pulled the product from the wrong tank and my "perfect" paint job turned into chewing gum.

The only way to rectify the situation is painstakingly remove the finish and start from scratch. All that chewing gum paint needs to go. After several hours I was done, and to ensure a good finish I put down a complete sealer coat to make sure that any small remnants won't float to the top.





I used a spot gun to shoot the sealer as dry and precise as possible



Sealer .....



.... and three medium coats of primer.



I'll let these primer coats harden in the heated garage and will try another round of final paint mid-week.

First time I've ever had my paint vendor screw up -- Onward!!

[goodfellow]

Finally!! -- longest darn spot paint project ever. I was able to get a good fast reducer and spray this stuff in 60 degree weather. It turned out very well.



Shot a very light dry first coat to keep the sealer from possibly lifting, and then waited for 30 minutes.



Last two coats were medium wet to get coverage an flow. Two coats of clear followed in 20 minute intervals





Mounted the bumper pad and cover -





Then I realized that it needed rear brakes -- why not! I had a spare set of new pads and just did a swap. The rotor looked good.



The painted splash guards were installed next, and the entire rear end was given a quick polish.



All that needs to go on are the badges, but thankfully this job is done.